Ostia Antica is one of those rare places on the outskirts of a city that no-one knows about. Ostia was the port of ancient Rome on a large and sprawling site. Silting of the river Tiber ended the role and function of the harbour. The ruins are beautifully preserved with a main street of over a mile long. Hours can be spent wandering from ruin to ruin, amongst the houses, the warehouses, the grocery shops and the taverns. On the day we visited the place was quiet with few visitors. A real suprise and although Pompeii is on a grander scale , Ostia Antica has a charm that Pompeii lacks. ... read more

This blog covers three days , one at Sorrento where we met sister in law Sandra, Jill who I used to work with at the Jobcentre in Clay Cross and two friends who were cruising from Palma to Sorrento, from Sorrento to Rome, from Rome to Barcelona and from Barcelona back to Palma. We drove in to the town over what can only be described as the most frightening roads in the country. It took some considerable time to travel between Amalfi and Sorrento via small mountain towns, the roads hairpinning all the way between one town and the next. Fast travel seemed impossible . When we arrived we parked close to the harbour in what seemed like the most expensive car parking we had ever used. It cost 20 euros for a couple of hours. ... read more

What a fabulous place to wake up in the morning. The sounds of the sea, the small boats plying their trade on the water and the sun twinkling like silver on the sea. Lemons hanging from the trees like christmas decorations on the christmas tree. Lemon granitas refreshing in the hot sultry weather. Amalfi town small but perfectly formed. A fabulous sea front, gelato counters and young Italians strutting their stuff . Felt a little like the song about the girls watching the boys watching the girls go by. The weather was mixed a touch of fog in the morning but bright sunshine in the afternoon. Woke up most mornings listening to the birds in the climbing plants which surrounded our small house which overlooked the bay. What could be better - a view of the ... read more

We felt pretty Abba'd out as we sang Waterloo over and over again our visit to Waterloo. This is a second attempt at putting this blog on. I put it on way back in October 2011 but managed tonight to delete it as I added photographs to the blog. What a mess as I have no way of really remembering what happened on that day. Parking was pretty easy as we were in the car and managed to find plenty of empty spaces in and around the memorial to the Battle of Waterloo. We paid our money and walked on to the site. From what I can remember there was a restaurant cafe on site but it was not particularly good and we decided to give it a miss. I cannot remember how much it cost ... read more

The day started off well. Breakfast as usual was served by Steve and we sat around the big table with today a Mexican family. Not much conversation was to be had as they spoke only Spanish and we had none so sign language, gestures and smiles were the only language we had in common. We had planned to visit a chateau locally but the day went rapidly downhill when we went to start the car. Nothing - Silence - it wouldnt start. No problem we thought. BMW would come to our rescue. We had their extended warranty cover with roadside assistance and France wouldnt be a problem. How wrong can you be? Their glossy brochure showed a brand new BMW liveried with Assistance written all over it. They boasted that would send a fully trained mechanic ... read more